Donald Trump is psychologically so far removed from reality to begin with, and more recently so jarringly senile, it’s been difficult to figure out if he’s truly understood just how screwed he is when it comes to this Russia scandal. However, in the past few days, it’s become abundantly clear what Trump thinks about his prospects – and he’s now fairly certain he’s not going to survive this one way or the other.

Now that three of Trump’s campaign advisers have been arrested, and one of them has already confessed to conspiring with Russia to alter the outcome of the election, he’s in a position where he has to do something to distance himself from it. Now would be the time for him to take a stand against Russia, condemn his advisers for having conspired with Russia, and attempt to insulate himself from the scandal. Or if he can’t bring himself to do that, he could at least shut up and stay out of his own way.

We all know Trump likes to talk, tweet, and try to control the narrative. So it wasn’t shocking to see him begin blabbing yesterday. The trouble for him is that he’s going in precisely the opposite direction he needs to go. At a time when mainstream America is taking a look at the mounting Trump-Russia arrests and beginning to conclude that the scandal really is as dire as Trump’s detractors have long claimed, Trump has publicly pledged his allegiance to Putin twice in two days.

First, Donald Trump announced that he believes Vladimir Putin’s assertion that Russia didn’t meddle in the election. Then, Trump announced that he wants sanctions against Russia eased. These statements are a desperate attempt at placating Putin, even though Trump knows that his words are making his Russia scandal much worse for him back home. Trump is facing impeachment and imprisonment, yet he’s even more afraid of what Putin will do to him if he doesn’t keep playing along. Trump now clearly knows he’s screwed either way.